Cam Ward And Drake Maye Top 2025 Fantasy Football Breakout Quarterback List

Discover the top three breakout fantasy quarterbacks for 2025—Drake Maye, Cam Ward, and Michael Penix Jr.—who have league-winning upside and should be high-priority targets in your draft.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half at Gillette Stadium. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Every year, there are a handful of breakout quarterbacks who help fantasy owners win championships. Sometimes it's a rookie like Jayden Daniels, and other times it's a veteran like Baker Mayfield. We are going to identify three breakout quarterbacks for 2025 who you should be targeting in your drafts. 

Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Maye certainly had his struggles as a rookie in 2024, but he also flashed the upside that made him the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The New England Patriots gave him very little to work with last year as far as weapons go, but that won't be the case in 2025. 

The Pats added Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams, and TreVeyon Henderson this offseason. All three should play a significant role in the passing attack. 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns is a reasonable projection for Maye this season; however, too many people are overlooking his rushing ability. In 10 full games last season, and three games that he barely played in, Maye rushed for 421 yards and two TDs. He could easily eclipse 700 yards and five TDs on the ground this year. Combine that with upgraded weapons, and a breakout season feels inevitable.   

Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

Like Daniels' last year, Ward is an exceptional NFL prospect. There was never any doubt that the Tennessee Titans were going to select him with the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he will be more than worth the investment. Granted, we are grading him on a bit of a rookie curve for this season, but we saw a guy like Bo Nix have a ton of value as a rookie last season. Ward is infinitely more talented than Nix could even dream about being. 

Cam Ward is going to be good...really good. pic.twitter.com/eFO3mfAqjE

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 27, 2025

The weapons in Tennessee are underrated. The issue has been the quarterbacks. Calvin Ridley, Chig Okonkwo, and Tony Pollard are very good players who were simply held back by the terrible quarterback play for the Titans. It may take a year or two before they are a legitimate playoff contender, but Ward is going to turn this franchise around in a hurry. 

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons 

Everything is laid out perfectly for Penix to break out in Atlanta. After a full season in the league, primarily as a backup, he can take the experience from last season and use it, knowing that he's going to be the starter this season. The Falcons already have an established rushing attack with Bijan Robinson and a great young receiver in Drake London. The system and supporting cast are both in place, and Penix has the arm talent to be a successful NFL quarterback. We expect him to break out in a major way this season.